THE City Council of Benidorm held a meeting recently, where attendees agreed unanimously that security levels in the city continue to increase.

The meeting – held quarterly – was chaired by Benidorm Mayor Toni Perez who was delighted to welcome British Consul in Alicante Sarah-Jane Morris.

Also present was Councillor of Security – Lorenzo Martinez, National Police Commissioner – Alfredo Garrido, Local Police Chief – Juan Fuertes and General Secretary of hotel association HOSBEC – Nuria Montes together with members of Benidorm’s British Business Association and representatives from tour operators Jet2, Saga Holidays and TUI.

Attendees agreed that measures implemented have been hugely successful, especially the addition of two sniffer dogs to the Local Police team.

The inauguration of the Foreign Tourist Assistance Service (SATE) in the Rincon de Loix area of the city was discussed, with Mayor Perez confirming that it should be in operation before the end of the year.

Attendees also covered the fake food poisoning claim problem. The scam involves British tourists claiming poor quality hotel food has given them food poisoning in a bid to get their money refunded.

Hosbec has demanded that British tourists should have to produce a prescription in food poisoning cases “to provide evidence that the complaint is real and not a scam”.

New lines of collaboration with residents and Benidorm’s British Business Association were proposed to continue to increase security levels and the perception of the resort for both residents and visitors.

Karen Maling Cowles,of Benidorm’s British Business Association said earlier this year that the association “is continuing to work very hard to restore Benidorm into a family friendly resort.”

She continued: “We are a community that cares very much about its residents and visitors… We have an ideal of creating and maintaining a resort orientated at being family friendly but at the same time lots of fun. We want our elderly to feel safe. We want our children to enjoy the many activities and entertainment aimed at families, without being exposed to disorderly, violent or sexually explicit behaviour of which we do not condone.”